1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscopy system including an endoscope, accessories used in combination with the endoscope, and an endoscopic operation assist device capable of easily performing various operations using the accessories.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, endoscopes have been widely used in the medical field. An endoscope includes an elongated insertion section and an operation section provided at the proximal end of the insertion section. Generally, a bendable portion is provided at the distal end of the elongated insertion section. The operation section includes a knob to bend the bendable portion and various switches for various operations of endoscopic functions.
In the endoscope used in the medical field, to observe an organ in a body cavity, the insertion section is inserted into the body cavity of a subject. The endoscope is capable of performing various treatments using accessories introduced into the body cavity through an accessory channel in the insertion section.
To insert an accessory into the accessory channel of the endoscope, an operator holds a sheath, serving as an insertion section of the accessory, and manually inserts the sheath into the accessory channel. However, this manual insertion takes time. Further, in order to prevent the sheath having a length of, e.g., 2 m, from buckling and keep the sheath from contact with an unclean area, considerable care has to be exercised in inserting the sheath. The insertion is complicated and difficult for the operator.
To solve the above-described problems, e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 57-190541 discloses an endoscope that enables a sheath of an accessory to be mechanically inserted into an accessory channel.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-207 discloses an endoscopic accessory inserting/removing apparatus that enables an accessory to be mechanically inserted and further enables a treating member of an accessory to be mechanically operated on the basis of an instruction output from a foot switch.
In the above cases, an operator operates the treating member to actually perform treatment. Accordingly, a result of treatment depends on the skill of the operator. In other words, there is a large gap between the skill of an inexperienced doctor and that of a richly experienced one.